One of my favorite Sammy Cahn lines, from the Cahn-Van Heusen song written for Sinatra called "The Look of Love" (not to be confused with the Bacharach-David song written for Dusty Springfield a couple years later):

On the other hand, it's odd that there's so little serious music that's really about food.

I know about hundreds of songs that refer to food, but once you eliminate instrumental numbers; the comic and novelty songs ("Yes! We Have No Bananas"), parodies ("Eat It!") and children's music ("On Top of Spaghetti"); the innuendo songs where food references stand in for money, drugs or sex ("I'm a biscuit roller, baby / I wanna roll your dough") and other uses of food as metaphor ("Someone left the cake out in the rain") or simile ("Hair of gold and lips like cherries"); and songs where the food reference is incidental or just a space filler ("Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns"); there's not so much left.

Food is such an intrinsic part of life. It certainly plays an important role in the literary and visual arts. I wonder why music so rarely treats it seriously.

A Tribe Called Quest's "Ham 'N Eggs" was always a favorite of mine -- probably fits on the goofy side of the ledger, but delightfully catchy as well. I probably haven't heard the song in a good ten years, but every time I eat asparagus, I think "asparagus tips look yummy, yummy, yummy..."

A Tribe Called Quest wrote: In ten minutes, she started yellin (come and get it)And the gettin's were goodI said, I shouldn't eat, she said, I think you shouldBut I can't, I'm plagued by vegetariansNo cats and dogs, I'm not a veterinarianStrictly collard greens and a occasional steakGoes on my plateAsparagus tips look yummy, yummy, yummyCandied yams inside my tummyA collage of good eats, some snacks or nice treatsApple sauce and some nice red beetsThis is what we snack on when we're Questin'

I always wondered about "montelimat." A search turns up some eGulleters speculating that it's a long-lived typo: "Montelimar is the name of a town in France, famous for producing nougat."

George Harrison claimed he wrote the song about Eric Clapton, a chocoholic with bad teeth, and based the lyrics on a box of candy.

I Me Mine by George Harrison, Simon and Schuster, 1980, wrote:"Savoy Truffle" is a funny one written while hanging out with Eric Clapton in the ’60s. At that time he had a lot of cavities in his teeth and needed dental work. He always had a toothache but he ate a lot of chocolates -- he couldn’t resist them. Once he saw a box, he had to eat them all. He was over at my house and I had a box of Good News chocolates on the table and wrote the song from the names inside the lid.

Of course, when I first heard this song, back in the day, it never occurred to me it was actually about candy. I thought it was an, ahem, psychedelic fantasy, like "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" ... "nothing is real...."

Louisiana music (from zydeco to New Orleans funk, blues and jazz to others) is, unsurprisingly, full of cooking and food references. A personal favorite (although written by a Mississippian who made Chicago his home) is "Red Beans Cookin'" by Muddy Waters (my favorite version is the rollicking arrangement by Professor Longhair).

I went to church last Sunday
So I could sing and pray
But something quite unusual
Happened on that day

Now church it started right on time
Just like it does without a doubt
And everything was all just fine
Except when it came time to let us out

You know the preacher he kept preaching
He told us I have one more thing to say
Children before you think of leaving
You better think about the Judgment Day

Now everyone got nervous
Because everyone was hungry too
And everyone was wondering
What was the next thing he would do

And the preacher he kept preaching
He said now I'll remind you if I may
You all better pay attention
Or I might decide to preach all day

And now everyone was getting so hungry
That the old ones started feeling ill
And the weak ones started passing out
And the young ones they could not sit still

And the preacher's voice rose higher
So I snuck up on the balcony
And I crept into the choir
And I begged them brothers, sisters, help me please

I said when I give you a signal
I said when I raise up my hand
Won't you please join with me together
And praise the Lord I have a plan

And the preacher he kept preaching
Long is the struggle, hard the fight
And I prayed, Father please forgive me
And then I stood up and with all my might
I sang

To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
And I listened to what the preacher said
Now it's to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

Yes and I did give a signal
Yes and I raised up my hands
And then joined with me the choir
Yes every woman, child, and man
They sang

To the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
And I've listened to what the preacher said
Now it's to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

And the preacher he stopped preaching
And a hush the church did fill
And then a great white dove from up above
Landed on the window sill

And the dove flew down beside him
And a fork appeared right in his hand
And with everybody watching
The preacher ate that bird right there and then

And now everyone got really nervous
And the preacher he did start to glow
And as we watched in disbelief
These were the words he spoke

He said now Mama's in the kitchen
And she's been there all day
And I know she's cooking something good
So let's bow our heads and pray
And he sang

To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

And the moral of this story
Children it is plain but true
God knows if a preacher preaches long enough
Even he'll get hungry too
And he'll sing

To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
Now listen to what the preacher said
He said to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat

The Chapel Hill trash rock band, Southern Culture on the Skids probably has the greatest number of songs devoted to food or food culture among its repetoire. One of their albums is titled "Too Much pork For Just One Fork".

Their discography includes:

Eight Piece Box which contains the lyric, "I got me a thigh, then got me a breast. My mouth got so tired I had to take me a rest." The band's fans throw KFC drumsticks at them when they play this song live.

Camel Walk which includes the lyric, "Baby, would you eat that there snack cracker in your special outfit for me, please."

Other titles of note are "Fried Chicken and Gasoline" a tribute to a trucker and the women he's never had; "Tuna Fish Every Day" and "Biscuit Eater".

Last edited by YourPalWill on July 9th, 2007, 9:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

...and this old porch is like a steaming, greasy plate of enchiladas
With lots of cheese and onions and a guacamole salad
And you can get'em down at the LaSalle Hotel
In old downtown
With iced tea and a waitress
And she will smile every time...

BUT the classic food song, from 1976, kudos Larry Groce (who???):

Junk Food Junkie

You know I love that organic cooking
I always ask for more
And they call me Mr. Natural
On down to the health food store
I only eat good sea salt
White sugar don't touch my lips
And my friends is always
Begging me to take them
On macrobiotic trips

But at night I stake out my strongbox
That I keep under lock and key
And I take it off to my closet
Where nobody else can see
I open that door so slowly
Take a peek up north and south
Then I pull out a Hostess Twinkie
And I pop it in my mouth

Yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good lord have pity on me

Well, at lunchtime
You can always find me
At the Whole Earth Vitamin Bar
Just sucking on my plain white yogurt
From my hand thrown pottery jar
And sippin' a little hand pressed cider
With a carrot stick for dessert
And wiping my face
In a natural way
On the sleeve of my peasant shirt

Ah, but when that clock strikes midnight
And I'm all by myself
I work that combination
On my secret hideaway shelf
And I pull out some Fritos corn chips
Dr. Pepper and an Ole Moon Pie
Then I sit back in glorious expectation
Of a genuine junk food high

Oh yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good lord have pity on me

My friends down at the commune
They think I'm pretty neat
Oh, I don't know nothing about arts and crafts
But I give 'em all something to eat
I'm a friend to old Euell Gibbons
And I only eat homegrown spice
I got a John Keats autographed Grecian urn
Filled up with my brown rice

Oh, but folks lately I have been spotted
With a Big Mac on my breath
Stumbling into a Colonel Sanders
With a face as white as death
I'm afraid someday they'll find me
Just stretched out on my bed
With a handful of Pringles Potato Chips
And a Ding Dong by my head

In the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good lord have pity on me

can't let the thread go without one of the best food songs of all time

Goodie Mob, Soul Food

My old boy from the point
But I'm from Southwest and every
Now and then I get put to the test
But I can't be stopped
Cause I gotta come true ain't go no gun
But I got my crew
Didn't come fro no beef cause I don't eat steak
I got a plate of soul food chicken, rice and gravy
Not covered in too much
Drinking a cup of punch, tropical
Every last Thursday of the month

Daddy put tha hot grits on my chest in tha morning
When I was sick Mary had tha hot soup boiling
Didn't know why but it felt so good
Like some waffles in that morning
Headed back to tha woods
Now I'm full as tick
Got some soul on blast in tha cassette
Food for my brain
I haven't stopped learning yet
Hot wings from Mo-Joes
Got my forehead sweating
Celery and blue cheese on my menu next

Come and get yo' soul food, well well
Good old-fashioned soul food, all right
Everythang is for free
As good as it can be
Come and get some soul food

Sunday morning where you reating at?
I'm on 1365 Wichita Drive
Ole' burd working the stove ride
Churches dripping chicken in yesterday's grease
Didn't go together with this quart of Mickey's
Last night hanging over from a good time
yeah beef is cheaper but
It's pumped with "red dye" between two pieces of bread
Shawty look good with dem hairy legs
Wish I could cut her up but, ma stomach come before sex
A house full of hoes now what's the ingredient
Spaghetty plus her monthly flow
They know they making it hard on the yard
Fuck Chris Darden, fuck Marsha Clark
Taking us when we're in the spotlight for a joke
Changing by the day I see it's getting bigga in my square
Looking at Lenox from the outside
With a stare no money to go inside
Tameka and Tiffany outside tripping
And skipping rope to the beats from my jeep
As I speak wuz up from the driver seat

A heaping helping of fried chicken
Macaroni and cheese and collard greens
Too big for my jeans
Somke steams from under the lid that's on the pot
Ain't never had allot but thankful for
The little that I got why not be
Fast food got me feeling sick
Them crackers think they sick
By trying to make this bullshit affordable
I thank the Lord taht my voice was recordable
Come an get your soul food well well..
Hold up C it's what I write
And Miss Lady acting like we in jail
Says she ain't got no extra hush puppis to sell
Bankhead seafood making me hit that door
With a mind full of attitude
It was a line at tha beautiful
JJ'S Ribshack was packed too
Looking to be one of dem days
When Momma ain't cooking
Everybody's out hunting with tha family
Looking for a little soul food

Come and get yo' soul food, well well
Good old-fashioned soul food, all right
Everythang is for free
As good as it can be
Come and get some soul food

Godley Creme, Snack Attack: wrote:They want me to be as light as a featherso the Doctor's wired my jaws togethernow I'm locked in the bedroom away from the foodso I lie on my back in the dark in the nudeI can't eat no moreI got to use a straw

But if the Devil dragged me down to the kitchenI wouldn't put up a fightI'd gladly sign away my soulfor a T-bone steak tonight

I feel like Kojak sitting in a CadillacI gotta eat, I gotta eat a Flapjacka stack, a rack, a six-pack Jackjust call me Jack Kerouacclick-clack open up the hatchbackI could eat a Bubble car or a packamackpattacake, pattacake Big Macgood God it's a snack attack

One of my favorites - Tom Waits' "Eggs and Sausage (In A Cadillac With Susan Michelson):"

Nighthawks at the diner
of Emma's 49er, there's a rendezvous
of strangers around the coffee urn tonight
All the gypsy hacks, the insomniacs
Now the paper's been read
Now the waitress said

Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
What kind of pie?

In a graveyard charade, a late shift masquerade
2 for a quarter, dime for a dance
With Woolworth rhinestone diamond
Earrings, and a sideway's glance
And now the register rings
And now the waitress sings

Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
What kind of pie?

The classified section offered no direction
It's a cold caffeine in a nicotine cloud
Now the touch of your fingers
Lingers burning in my memory
I've been 86ed from your scheme
I'm in a melodramatic nocturnal scene
I'm a refugee from a disconcerted affair
As the lead pipe morning falls
And the waitress calls

Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
What kind of pie?

It's from his "Nighthawks at the Diner" album - great song, great album, much better listened to then read.

YourPalWill wrote:The Chapel Hill trash rock band, Southern Culture on the Skids probably has the greatest number of songs devoted to food or food culture among its repetoire. One of their albums is titled "Too Much pork For Just One Fork".